Surgical lighting systems are used to illuminate surgical sites placed in surgical environments. A common concern for such systems is how best to handle obstructions that block light supplied for illuminating surgical sites. Such obstructions are typically caused by movement of surgical team members between the lighting elements of a system and the surgical site. Such instances are commonly solved by reducing the light intensity of obstructed lighting elements and increasing the light intensity of unobstructed lighting elements.
However, redistributing the light intensity to the unobstructed lighting elements does not address the obstruction of the other lighting elements. As such, illumination provided to the surgical site as a whole is significantly reduced. The surgical site may also be subject to a proliferation of shadows created by the obstructions. Redistributing the light intensity to the unobstructed lighting elements also reduces the life span of those lighting elements compared with the obstructed lighting elements. There is also an increase in heat emitted from the intensified unobstructed lighting elements.
The present invention provides an improved system for illuminating a surgical site when obstructions are formed between the lighting elements and the surgical site.